At 3 minutes and 07 seconds in the first quarter, Zhang Yang made a back-cut move from the elbow area, sprinted long to the top of the arc, shook off Leonard, received a pass from Kobe, and hit a three-pointer... Popovich called a timeout!
The score difference wasn't actually big, you could even say it didn't exist.
The Lakers started with 5 shots, hitting 3, including 1 three-pointer, plus 2 free throws from 2 attempts, scoring 9 points with high efficiency.
The Spurs weren't bad either, utilizing various cuts and ball movement, showcasing the splendid Spurs system, tearing apart the Lakers' defense. They made 5 shots, hitting 3, one of which was Duncan receiving the ball and making a hook shot over Kobe's help defense for a 2+1, scoring 7 points. The Spurs were leading by 1 point before Zhang Yang's three-pointer.
But Popovich still called a timeout; if he didn't, Leonard was going to collapse!
